Love Song
by Sandshinobi00
Summary: A.U Hetalia Academy for the Arts, the best all boys academy in the world. This is Matthew's story. Eventual RussiaXCanada, onesided FranceXCanada,CubaXCanada and others.
1. You've been invited to Hetalia Academy

It all started with a letter.

A simple letter addressed to Matthew Williams of Ontario, Canada. Physically the letter was no different than any other letter, the only things the blonde could say that were odd about the letter was that it had been sealed by an old fashion wax seal and had no return post. Who knew such a simple thing could and eventually would change his life.

The letter itself was an acceptance letter to _Hetalia Academy for the Arts_. A world renowned all boys, in which it is next to impossible to get in. It is a place where boys from around the world come to learn and hone their skills, all brimming with talent whether it is in the performing arts, such as dance, acting, singing, playing an instrument, or the written and visual arts. The Canadian had only applied to the school because of his persistent art teacher; he never dreamed that he would ever be accepted to it. To say his mother was thrilled was an understatement, to think that her little Matty would be going to such an illustrious school made the woman squeal in delight. Matthew on the other hand didn't share his mother's enthusiasm. He had never stayed far from home before, and now he was going to be studying aboard with a bunch of boys that he didn't even know… the idea made him more than a little nervous. However his mother eased the worst of his fears and finally convinced the blonde to attend.

Matthew lay in his bed restless and unable to sleep. He kept on re-reading the acceptance letter in his mind.

'_Matthew Williams,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hetalia Academy. We've gone over your portfolio and application form and would be delighted to have you attend. Please do not lose the attached sheet as you will not be admitted to the school without it. Below is information on how you will get to the academy.'_

Matthew stopped after that, he didn't want to think about the subject anymore. Tomorrow he would be leaving anyway, his mother would take him to the bus station downtown at 8:43 in the morning and from there… well he didn't know exactly. He glanced over at his alarm clock, the red lights reading, 12: 18 AM. 'I'd better get some sleep.' He mused closing his eyes. It wasn't long until he found himself in an uneasy sleep.

The morning came sooner than Matthew would've liked, he stared out the window as he mother drove him down to the bus station. The blonde woman was talking excitedly to her son, who at the moment wished she wasn't as all it did was make his stomach churn.

"Oh Matty, I'm so proud of you!" She sighed happily, "I always knew you were talented but, oh this is just wonderful don't you think? If your father was still alive he would be proud too, you're getting to look so much like him…"

Matthew nodded a little pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. He didn't say anything but continued to quietly listen to his mother as she resumed talking about the school, telling him not to worry, that he would make plenty of friends and she would see him for the winter break and New Years. The car pulled up to the bus station and Matthew got out of the car as his mother popped open the trunk allowing the young blonde to get his suitcases and duffle bag, which was designed to resemble the Canadian flag. With his arms full he closed the trunk and his mom poked her head out of the driver's window.

"You sure you don't want me to help carry your things? Do you need any help finding the right bus?"

"Don't worry mom I'll be okay." Matthew reassured her. He still went over and gave her a hug and said his goodbyes before heading over to the station.

For ten minutes the blonde held the paper that had been sent along with his acceptance letter and wandered about looking for the right spot. He nearly jumped out of his skin as a tall imposing figure loomed over him.

"Master Williams?" he asked. The man was tall dressed in a black suit with dark sunglasses to match, the tall male's voice was deep and it made the tiny blonde nervous.

"Y-yes?" he squeaked. The man took his belongings and replied,

"This way."

The blonde nodded and quickly tried to keep up with the other. When he arrived to the bus his mouth went a little wide, the bus was rather large painted black with tinted windows and had the schools logo ( the earth with various music notes, the comedy and tragedy masks, paint brushes, and papers surrounding it) painted in silver on the side. The man put his luggage down and turned to him,

"Papers." He stated. Matthew shook his head and held out the slightly crimpled paper. The man looked it over briefly before putting it in his pocket saying,

"Very well, go ahead and get on we'll be leaving as soon as your things are on board."

The Canadian nodded once more before going around getting on. Once inside, his jaw dropped, it was more like a mobile home than anything, with a couch, TV, table, sink, stove, bathroom, and fridge. The Canadian looked around dumbfounded at how luxurious the transportation the school provided was. _If this is what the bus looks like then what does the actual academy look like?!_ He thought taking a seat on the couch. He looked towards the front and saw another man in a black suit sitting at the wheel reading a newspaper and drinking a bit of coffee. The door to the bus opened up again and the other man from before walked in and the driver started up the bus.

"Master Williams is there anything I can get you? Muffins, eggs, toast, or an omelet perhaps? Or would you care for some coffee, milk, juice?" Matthew politely declined and the man simply nodded and sat down in the passenger seat in the front of the bus.

The blonde sat nervously twitching in his seat as the bus pulled away from the station and headed off. Matthew was lost in his thoughts and didn't notice that the bus pulled into an airport. The large man led him off the bus and onto the runway where a small jet waited. On the tail was the school's logo. _Holy crap! The school has a freaking private jet?! How rich is this school?_ The Canadian thought.

Matthew stepped on the plane and the first thing he took notice of was the noise, already on the plane were several boys. Yet as he stepped on the noise faded and they seemed to immediately lock onto the blonde.

"Hey, we got a new guy! Hey new guy come here!" One called, he was blonde like Matthew with glasses and he wore a bomber jacket. Matthew tensed a little but made his way over.

"Bloody hell Alfred, must you shout? The boy's barely more than ten feet away, there's no need to shout you twit." A British accented boy chastised. He had blonde hair as well, with green eyes and rather large eyebrows. Beside him sat another blonde who muttered,

"Ah but Arthur, I can understand why Alfred is so excited, this new student he is quite adorable, oui?" he spoke with a light French accent, looking over at Matthew with a hungry look in his eyes. Matthew blushed and took a seat next to the blonde with the bomber jacket on, the one who was called Alfred. There were some other teens on the plane as well that on the flight he was introduced too as well. There was Yao, who came from China and he seemed to be an easy going kind of guy. A Japanese boy named Kiku, who was even quieter than he was. Ludwig, a blonde male with an intimidating presence, who came from Germany, and a pair of twins from Italy, Feliciano and Lovino. Feliciano clung onto Ludwig and greeted Matthew rather warmly while Lovino said little more than a small hi, and ignored him glaring at Ludwig and the way his brother held onto him.

Matthew talked with Alfred most of the trip, occasionally being interrupted by Arthur who would point out if Alfred was 'stretching the truth' about Hetalia Academy and its students. The trip lasted a bit over two hours and as the plane began to descend past the clouds, Matthew saw the place where he would be staying for the next school year; the school was on a small island with its own runway, and several other jets, the academy building was atop a high cliff overlooking the sea. It resembled a sixteenth century castle rather than a school.

"Well Matthew welcome to Hetalia Academy." Alfred chuckled putting his arm around the Canadian's shoulders.

Matthew nodded and out of the corner of his eyes noticed another student at the back of the plane staring out the window a blank expression written over his features, he had light pale silvery hair with bright purple eyes that seemed cold and distant. The other's violet eyes met his for a brief moment before Matthew turned away. _'Who is he?'_ Matthew thought, wondering why the other's seemed to act as if he didn't even exist.

* * *

_**Okay this idea has been bugging me for a while and I finally got down to writing it. This hasn't been beta'd so please forgive any mistakes and such. And well, I hope you guys like it so far and everything so please review/favorite/set an alert. Thank you so much for reading! ~Sandshinobi00**_


	2. Hola Amigo Como te llamas?

Once the plane landed Matthew found himself being half-dragged, half-led off of the plane. The Canadian wanted to ask about the other boy on the plane. The one with the violet eyes. However he was not given even the slightest chance and soon enough he forgot about it all together. Matthew followed Alfred and the others as they left the large runway and began to walk over to a small gravel path.

"Now all we have to do is go down this here trail and we're finally done." Alfred chuckled, "Damn, how I long for a nice comfy bed to take a nap on!"

The American then set off with Arthur in tow. The Briton scoffed and corrected in a matter of fact tone.

"That may be true but don't forget to pick up your schedule this time, you twat…"

Yao rolled his eyes and proceeded in following the two (now bickering) blondes. Matthew watched uncertainly and hesitated in going after the others. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he tensed; glancing to the right he saw Francis give him a small, yet reassuring smile.

"Do not be frightened _Matthieu_," He said, "I know you are new here and it is a bit daunting, oui? But it is not that bad, and if you are worrying about Alfred and Arthur, well don't. They are always that way, so ungentlemanly to be honest. Now comes along."

Matthew's cheeks flushed and he turned his head to the side. Even though a small part of him said that he had no real reason to be embarrassed by such a thing he simply couldn't control the reddening of his cheeks and he let out a sigh. The Frenchman grinned and walked on ahead leaving the Canadian to catch up. Matthew snapped back to attention and started to walk down the stony path following the other boys.

During the walk Matthew took the time to get a good look at the island. The air was crisp and clean smelling of the sea, among the green grass there were small clusters of wild flowers. The individual buds reflecting different colors of blue, purple, white, and pink. The Canadian had to admit that the island had a very peaceful atmosphere. The group continued to walk for about twenty minutes or so before they arrived at the entrance of the academy. Matthew's eyes grew to be the size of dinner plates as he took in the sheer size of the academy building. 'Mon Dieu…' He thought to himself staring straight up along the elegant pillars and enormous columns decorating the building. The roar of the crashing waves behind him rang in his ears making him feel even smaller than he already felt. The blonde was brought out of his state of awe when he heard Alfred's amused laugh.

"What?" Matthew asked completely horrified and slightly irritated that the American would start to poke fun at him.

However that wasn't what the other bespectacled boy had in mind, "Nothing, it's just that I had the exact same reaction when I first started here, that's all." He paused before adding, "No need to get testy, come on lets go lots to see and not enough time."

And with that said Alfred took off once again, Matthew readily followed the others this time. The academy had high stone walls each craved intricately and beautifully, surrounded by numerous columns and the front entrance had marble steps leading up to the door. The building itself could stand alone as a work of art. When the group reached the top of the steps the large hand craved door was propped open and they walked right inside. There several men dressed in butler attire greeted them and proceeded to escort the group to the main auditorium.

"New students will report over on the right side of the building along the south wall, returning students on the opposite side along the north wall. Good day young masters." One said pointing out the directions as he spoke. With his job finished the man gave a deep bow and left. Alfred smiled and waved a quick good-bye and told Matthew he would meet up with him later. Matthew nodded and said good-bye to the others a well before making his way over to the tables set up along the southern wall of the room. A woman waved him over to her table and asked for his last name. She was a stern looking creature with thin wire-rimmed glasses, hollow cheeks, and piercing gray eyes. She was a woman who had all the characteristics of an old woman trapped in a youthful body.

"Matthew Williams?" she asked reading off of a paper she pulled out of a file, even her voice sounded sharp and Matthew barely managed to nod a small 'yes'.

The woman said no more and pulled out a few more papers and spoke again, "Very well, your room number is 309 on the third floor. Your luggage will be taken up shortly, and your roommate is Carlos Martinez. He's your senior so it would be best if you can make friends with him and get him to show you around the school. If there are any complaints you'll have to tough it out until the school can come up with another room or find someone who'll take on a roommate. Next."

Matthew's face paled slightly, he had a roommate? And from what else the woman mentioned about if they didn't get along he would have to wait did not sit very well with the timid Canadian boy. He swallowed the lump in his throat, thanked the woman and began the slow trek to his room. At first the blonde was worried that he would surely get lost in the enormous building but with the abundant amount of staff roaming the halls all he had to do was ask and they pointed the way for him. Along the way Matthew took in the grandeur of the interior of the school and the large paintings which decorated the already lavish looking halls. Many were of students (as to whether they were actually students who once attended the academy he didn't know) either playing an instrument, reciting a bit from a play, or sitting at a desk with a pen in hand deep in contemplation. The floors were marble and the blonde could easily see his reflection within them. For a time he wandered exploring and satisfying his curiosity before heading to the room he was assigned. He walked in and forgot to close the door as his mouth dropped. The room was incredibly large, (large enough to have two queen size beds, two desks, walk in closets, two small dressers, lamp tables by the beds and plenty of walking space) the room even had its own full bathroom complete with shower, toilet, and sink. The beds had silk sheets and Egyptian cotton comforters which were emblazoned with the school's logo.

"Oh, wow…" Matthew whispered to himself as he took a seat on the edge of one of the beds. He looked over to the other side of the room and finally took notice of the luggage placed by the other bed. "Those must belong to Carlos…" he wondered with half interest where the other male was, not that he was exactly eager to meet him.

"Alfred? ¿Qué demonios estás haciendo aquí? ¡Fuera bastardo!" a voice snarled from behind him. Matthew jumped out of his skin as he found himself face-to-chest with a taller darkly tanned male who was obviously pissed. The young Canadian didn't even get the chance to choke out a single syllable as he was picked up by his collar. "Contéstame." Matthew struggled slightly and gasped out,

"P-please, I'm not Alfred… my name's M-Matthew…." The other male looked at him slightly confused before realizing that the unfortunate Canadian was telling the truth. The older male set him back on his own two feet and replied, "Lo siento amigo. I'm sorry about that... I thought you were someone else… you two look alike…Mi nombre es Carlos, encantado de conocerte _Mateo_."

Matthew regained his composer (along with his breath) before saying, "I-it's nice to meet you too…" The blonde didn't know a lot of Spanish but he could piece together what the other male was saying. The tanned male was tall, well taller than Matthew with shoulder length dark brown hair (which was in dreadlocks held back in a small ponytail) and had big brown eyes.

"So Mateo…¿De dónde es usted?" Carlos asked walking over and sitting down on his bed. Matthew gave him a small look and muttered an apology that he didn't know what the other male was asking, or saying. Carlos laughed and repeated, this time in English, "Where you from, is what I'm asking."

"Oh, I'm from Canada, Ontario to be exact…" Matthew replied shyly, shuffling his feet, "Um, where are you from if you don't mind me asking…"

Carlos gave him a smile and said, "Don't be so shy, I didn't mean to scare you like that earlier and I promise my bark is much worse than my bite. Anyway my home is Cuba, born and raised. "¿Cuál es tu talento? Do you play music, act, write..?"

Matthew admitted that he got into the academy due to his artistic abilities. And the two began to talk for while until a small knock at the door interrupted the two.

"Mister Williams, Señor Martinez I have the last of your luggage, may I please bring them in for you?" Another staff member stood in the doorway awaiting orders. Matthew didn't really feel comfortable about how the students seemed to be treated like royalty. It would take some getting used to. Carlos simply waved the man in and thanked him. Matthew nodded to the man as he left. Before the man departed he turned to the students and said,

"A small reminder that this evening's dinner will be served promptly at six o' clock. Good afternoon young masters." The man bowed and left, his footsteps echoing down the hallway. Matthew looked at his wrist watch and made notice of the current time which was 4:30. He was brought away from his thoughts when he heard the Cuban shuffling through his luggage and the other male pulled out a guitar case and opened it up revealing a black six-string acoustic guitar. The other male took it out and held it carefully plucking a few strings and tuning them. Matthew watched inquisitively until he caught the others brown eyes watching him, Matthew instantly turned away and his cheeks turned a light shade of pink.

"Sorry. Forgive me for staring…" he mumbled.

"Aw, don't worry about it, like I said I don't bite." Carlos replied good-naturedly, the Cuban then placed the guitar back into the case and shut it before asking, "So Matthew have had a chance to go over your schedule and explore the academy?"

Matthew shook his head, "N-no I haven't, and I haven't gone to look at the school much because it's so big… I'm kind of afraid that I'll get lost." The Canadian chuckled nervously. The Cuban stood up and said,

"All right then let's just get changed into our uniforms and I'll take you on a brief tour before dinner."

"Uniforms?" the young blonde asked. Carlos merely pointed to his closet and said that the school provided uniforms that the students had to wear. Matthew went over and opened up his closet and sure enough there were uniforms for him. The uniforms were all black with the schools logo on the right side, with a pin that was worn on the collar which were silver roman numerals. After changing the pair headed out into the enormous academy.

As they walked down the halls Carlos explained that the first floor held primarily the music and theatre rooms, the second floor held the art and computer rooms (the computer rooms where often used by the studying authors and playwrights and the rooms had many shelves and bookcases full of books), and the third and fourth floors were used as the boys' living quarters. A main hallway on the first floor connected the first half of the building to the second half which held the dining hall along with the main library and the other classrooms for the students' regular classes (such as English, mathematics, etc.)

"Why do they have the school set up that way?" Matthew asked as he and Carlos continued to walk around the school. The Cuban shrugged his shoulders and replied,

"Guess it's because we have breakfast, the regular classes, lunch and then the rest of the school day we go to our other classes and then back to our rooms or wherever…"

When Matthew looked at it that way the layout made sense. A bell chimed through the P.A system.

"Well time to go."

"Go? Where?" Matthew mumbled. Carlos pointed at the blonde's watch and Matthew then realized it was six o' clock. Dinner was currently being served or it would be in a few minutes. Matthew nodded and followed the older student to the dining hall.

Cutting through hallways the pair quickly made their way over to the dining hall, the hall itself had two large oak doors which where wide open. The hall way decorated with banners on the wide of the walls in between the windows (black with the schools logo of course) and a grand chandelier hung from the middle of the ceiling and sparkled in the light. Large tables filled the room, and the staff stood along the side of the room with covered silver trays on carts and pitchers filled with tea and water along with many assorted beverages. Other students had already been filing into the room and Carlos picked out a table for the two to sit at. Matthew looked about the room excitedly, the atmosphere of the room finally getting to him. He spotted Alfred and Arthur, though they were kind of hard to miss since they were currently arguing (yet again), Francis was sitting at another table with two other boys, one with white hair and piercing red eyes, the other with lightly tanned skin and brown hair. On the other side of the boy with the white hair sat Ludwig, and the Italian twins, Feliciano and Lovino.

"Hey Carlos, good to see you! Who's your friend?" a voice called making Matthew turn his head around to see a blonde haired brown eyed boy pull up a seat at the table. The boy was followed by a taller blonde with a pair of glasses framing his blue eyes. The taller (and in the Canadian's mind more intimidating) male sat down beside the other.

"Hola Tino, Berwald, this is Matthew. Matthew the short one is Tino, and the tall silent guy next to him is Berwald." The Cuban explained introducing them.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you." Matthew said smiling a little at the two. Tino said a small greeting in reply while Berwald merely nodded. As the dining hall continued to be flooded by students more sat down at the table and began to introduce themselves. A boy from Denmark, Damian who was just a few inches shorter than Berwald had waltzed up to the table saying that it was his 'duty' to go around to all the new students and let them know that he 'Ran this motherfucker and to not get any 'ideas'.' Whatever the heck that meant. And although Matthew thought he was just seeing things he couldn't help but think that Berwald seemed a little ticked off that the Danish boy had come over to the table. After Damian came along Atli, a small Norwegian boy, and Hallbjorn, who came from Iceland, the two of them didn't say anything to Matthew and just took a seat next to Damian. Once the two had settled a soft clinking sound filled the room making all the students look to the front of the dining hall. The headmaster stood at the front of the room and cleared his throat before addressing the students. He spoke of how he was glad that he had seen many old, familiar faces and overjoyed that he saw some new faces as well. That he hoped this upcoming year at Hetalia Academy would be one to remember. And with his final words spoken he announced that the feast be served.

The staff moved quickly setting down the large trays which held roasted turkey, pork, rotisserie chicken, and all sorts of vegetables and sides (and some trays held international and foreign foods that Matthew didn't recognize but they looked delicious), hot buttery dinner rolls and took the students drink orders. Matthew's mouth watered at the sight of all that food and couldn't wait to dig in; he served himself some chicken with green beans and mashed potatoes with a glass of sweet ice-tea. While he ate he managed to strike up a conversation with Tino unaware of the odd look he was given by Berwald. However Carlos did and said humorously,

"Hey Berwald, ease up on the stare Matthew won't try nothing with your boyfriend."

Tino blushed and stuttered that he and Berwald weren't together, and Berwald snorted and his left eye twitched a tiny bit. Matthew's face went red too and he looked away. Damian overheard and laughed, proceeding to tease the taller blonde.

During dinner Matthew asked Carlos about the other students, like who they were and such. Carlos took a drink from his glass before looking at the tables as if deciding where to start. Once he picked out a table he tapped Matthew on the shoulder and whispered while pointing out who was who.

"Okay over there at that table is what we have dubbed the 'Bad Touch Trio'. Which is made up of Antonio, the brunette, he comes from Spain and he does dance as well as study as a vocal musician. Gilbert Beilschmidt, he is the one with the red eyes and the white hair. He basically comes from Germany; though don't say that to him, as he claims to be of Prussian decent." Matthew took a good look at the two and made a quick mental note.

"And finally, there is 'Triple Threat/Triple X' Francis, a threat because he sings, acts, and dances, and the 'X' part because of the fact that I'm not entirely sure that there's someone he hasn't made a pass at, and because of an incident that happened between him and Arthur last year… I'm not going to go into it any further because you are eating, but I think his French roots are showing." Carlos finished. Matthew's face turned red but he continued to listen as the other explained the other students.

Alfred is an American who got in for his electric guitar playing (and Carlos made it quite obvious that he disliked the boy, Matthew didn't ask why but made good notice of it), Arthur was a future novelist, and because of his accent it wasn't hard to guess where he came from. Yao was Chinese and participated in art, the German Ludwig got in due his short stories, the Italians Feliciano and Lovino were a duo. Kiku came from Japan and wrote poetry and another male on the side next to him who had blue eyes behind thin glasses and brown hair came from Austria, his name was Roderich and he was a very talented pianist. On the table next to that one on the far left sat a very hyper boy, his name was Im Yong-Soo he was a dancer who had grown to be quite popular in his home country of Korea, Maddox a stern looking young man was a writer plan and simple, as he wrote poetry, short stories, plays, etc. he lived in Hong-Kong. Another brunette sat beside him with a lighthearted smile and wore a pair of glasses, that young man's name was Jao, a dancer who was picked out of a group of talented dancers from Thailand. At the end of that table was a green eyed blonde who looked to be perpetually stressed was a Swiss teenager Vash Zwingli, he played the cello, a sleepy looking teen sat beside him with brown hair, Heracles Karpusi, and he was Greek and played the flute. Although he looked tired and about to keel over he was still conscious enough to glare daggers at the male next to him a Turkish young man, Sadiq Adnan who played the saxophone. Gupta Muhammad Hassan tried to keep the peace, he was an Egyptian male and was a playwright, and at the far end of that table was a male from Holland, Stefan who wrote horror novels. The next table over sat four boys (however if it weren't for the fact that this was an all boys academy) there were two who looked a bit like girls. One was a blonde polish boy who was in fashion design and the theatre, that young man Feliks Łukasiewicz was chatting away with the Lithuanian poet Toris Lorinaitis, and beside him sat a young man who didn't seem at all interested in eating and was fiddling with his PDA, he was Eduard von Brock an Estonian violinist, who was also incredibly skilled when it came to technology. Eduard was also nodding and managing to carry on a conversation with the tiny Latvian, Raivis Galante who was a painter. Carlos was practically out of breath by the time he finished introducing everyone in the room.

"And you've already met Tino, Berwald, Damian, Hallbjorn, and Atli." Cuba made a small sweeping motion with his arm as a way of pointing to them. "Tino is in art, as is Berwald, though he mostly does sculptures, Atli I believe is working on a small series of fables and what did he call them… ah fairy tales, like children's books. Hallbjorn plays the trumpet, and Damian oddly enough sings…"

"Damn right I sing my voice is so awesome it needs to be shared with the world!" Damian added shoving a forkful of food in his mouth. Carlos rolled his eyes and went back to his food as did Matthew. The Canadian was about to take a bite when movement caught his eye, he turned and noticed the same boy from before on the plane. Now the blonde saw the other student, he was incredibly tall, seeming to have a few inches or so, on even Berwald. Matthew knew it was the same male because of the eyes, those bright violet eyes. The teen walked over to one of the staff and began to talk with him during that time Matthew nudged Carlos and asked,

"Hey, who's that?"

"Hmm?" Carlos mumbled spoon in mouth. Matthew glanced over in the direction of the violet eyed boy and the Cuban swallowed his food before saying "That's Ivan Braginski, Russian… I'll tell you a bit more later, but right now all I can say is keep your distance."

Matthew was slightly confused, he looked at Ivan who had finished speaking to the staff member and left.

After dinner the students were dismissed to their dorms for the night as dinner had ended at 8:30. The Canadian once he and his roommate had returned to their rooms he showed and changed Carlos sat on one of the chairs in the room while Matthew sat down on his bed.

"Okay, now about what happened at dinner, look I don't know a lot of details but still stay away from him. Things happen whenever he's around and… just, Mateo, don't do anything dumb… por favor." Carlos said. His lighthearted tone had changed and he was deathly serious. Matthew simply nodded and Carlos let out a relieved sigh.

"Okay, well I'm going to bed," Matthew said pulling back the covers on his bed and the Cuban nodded mumbling something about he would probably be heading off to bed in a few minutes as well. Matthew turned over in his bed and closed his eyes thinking. _What have I gotten myself into?_

---

It was the middle of the night and Matthew found himself wide awake, he stirred in his bed and laid awake for awhile listening to the air conditioning and the quiet snores coming from the bed next to him. The blonde turned over in his bed and tried to fall back asleep. Just as his eyelids grew heavy he heard the sounds of footsteps in the hallway. The blonde rose up in his bed and went over to the door, pressing his ear against the wooden door and listened as they walked past. Matthew pulled the door open and peeked outside into the hallway. Matthew's blue eyes widened slightly as he recognized the tall male walking down the hall. The Russian continued to walk down the hall and turned at the very end. _Where is he going? _Matthew wondered and wanted to go and follow the other but Carlos' warning rang in his ears. _Keep your distance from him, it's risky to get too close._

And so, Matthew closed the door and crawled back into bed, wondering just what secrets this school and it's students held within it glorious walls.

* * *

_**Names**_

_**Cuba-Carlos Martinez**_

_**Denmark- Damian (which ironically means 'To Tame' I thought it was funny)**_

_**Iceland- Hallbjorn (meaning 'Rock bear' I'm not kidding…its true…)**_

_**Norway- Atli (meaning 'King of the Huns' I like it.)**_

_**Hong-Kong- Maddox (another fiction used this as is name, and I really like it)**_

_**Thailand- Jao (Yes this is actually a popular boy name in Thailand)**_

_**Holland-Stefan (it means crown, and I personally like the way it sounds)**_

_Okay, finally here is the second chapter to **'Love Song'** sorry that I haven't updated in a while, my personal life had taken over for a while and sorry if this chapter is too long, and I hope that it isn't boring, I fear that it is. And I hope you like it, and for those who read and are waiting for an update on **'Morning After'** I'm working on that and will try to get that chapter up soon. Forgive me for the long wait and I thank you for reading. Please favorite/set an alert/review. Thank you so much~Sandshinobi00_


	3. Stand my Ground

"Buenos Dias, Mateo. Come on time to wake up." Matthew heard Carlos say as the other shook his shoulder, "Vamanos amigo, if we hurry we can get first pick for breakfast."

Matthew blinked open his eyes and stared at the blob of color that was his roommate. The Canadian covered his yawn as he sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes, asking what Carlos meant about first pick. Carlos shrugged and grabbed his uniform heading for the bathroom saying,

"Well, if we get there first, or close to it we get our orders in early which means served first and we won't be rushing to get to class. Now I'm going to go take a quick shower, so if you need to get in I'll be right out."

Matthew shook his head, "No, I'm fine you take your time." The Cuban nodded and went into the bathroom. With the other gone Matthew reached over to the nightstand beside his bed and unfolded his glasses placing them on his face. As clarity took over the young blonde stood up and stretched out his arms above his head, in doing so as his arms were raised his shirt lifted a bit too revealing part of his pale stomach.

After popping his neck he went over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of clean boxers and quickly changed before going to his closet to get his school uniform and put it on. To be honest with himself he admitted it felt a bit strange, being at this first rate school. Smoothing out the edges of his shirt and collar Matthew gave himself one final look over before making sure he had all the supplies he needed for his classes after breakfast. The Canadian even made sure to have his schedule in the small black bag as well. 'Guess that's everything.' Matthew confirmed to himself. Just as he finished the thought Carlos emerged from the bathroom fully dressed and mid-way drying his hair. Once satisfied with how dry his hair was the Cuban grabbed a hair tie and quickly pulled his dark hair up into a small ponytail.

"Okay, you got your stuff Mateo?" Carlos asked picking his own bag up but leaving his guitar case. Matthew looked curiously and Carlos laughed lightly saying, "Oh, that don't worry after our main classes I'll make a quick dash back here and get it. It's a bit too big for me to be lugging around from class to class."

Matthew nodded, "Makes sense." He added in his soft voice. The two then headed down to the dining hall to go and get breakfast. While walking down the almost silent halls Matthew found himself gazing out the large windows on the side out into the rising sun. The way the light glimmered over the horizon made this place seem unreal. The walk was uneventful and brief taking less than ten minutes for the pair to arrive at the dining hall. However, Matthew realized that they were not the first to arrive there that morning.

At a table along the far wall near a window sat another student. Ivan glanced over at the two as they entered his gaze completely void of all emotion. Matthew couldn't help but stare back, eyes transfixed by the amethyst orbs that shined like glass. The other turned back to his meal and downed his glass of water before thanking the staff and standing to exit the room. When the other stood Matthew was able to take in the full height of the Russian at a somewhat closer distance than before. Dressed in all black the older teen's skin seemed to be as white as snow and the light from the window made his silvery hair glow around the edges. Matthew quickly gathered his scattered wits and looked away following Carlos as the other left. _'What was that?' _The young blonde asked himself, confused as to why he seemed drawn towards the other. A shiver ran up his spine at the thought but he pushed it to the back of his mind, this was his first day and he couldn't afford to be wasting his time on such questions.

"Mateo, come on this way." Carlos gently urged. The tanned male led Matthew over to a table and one of the staff members came over and took orders. Matthew got himself a large stack of pancakes and orange juice, while the Cuban ordered chorizo, egg, and potato tacos, along with a glass of tea. As the two waited for their food to come out more students began to slowly file into the dining hall. Most were dragging their feet, still half asleep and probably wanting nothing more to return back to their dormitories and back to bed.

Matthew stifled a small gasp in his throat as he heard someone plop down beside him. Looking to his left Matthew barely recognized Tino's short form. The blonde was leaning a bit forward just about ready to drop his head onto the table from exhaustion. Beside Tino sat Berwald who rubbed the smaller males back in an attempt to keep the Finn awake.

"Tino, you are just not a morning person are you?" Carlos teased lightly. Tino responded by a slight nod and blew a half-hearted raspberry to the Cuban. Matthew couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the two, Berwald however remained ever silent and merely watched.

"Aw, shhhuuuuudddd-uuuppp…" Tino mumbled before leaning into Berwald's side closing his eyes and dozing off at the table. The Swede didn't seem to mind and allowed the younger one to rest.

When the staff member returned he carried a large tray, upon the tray was two large plates and two glasses. The man set them down in front of Matthew and Carlos; Matthew felt his mouth water at the very scent of the fluffy large pancakes set down in front of him. The staff member asked if he would like anything else, and Matthew nodded asking if they had any maple syrup. The man nodded and before he walked away he took Tino's and Berwald's orders, the tiny Finn woke up long enough to order a cup of coffee and the Swede declined and said that he wasn't hungry (Well, he mumbled it and the poor man had a slightly confused look on his face, none the less he finally figured out what Berwald said). Once the staff member returned Matthew drowned the pancakes in the sweet-sugary maple goodness and dug right in. At this point the dining hall was full of students some being served and others waiting for their food, the place was full of noise and the shouts and laughs of a couple of boys. Matthew nearly choked when Tino finished his small cup of coffee and immediately became alert and attentive. For a while they all talked (except Berwald who would only nod every now and then, never really saying anything but still somehow managing to be a part of the conversation) and when Berwald finally spoke he said that they should probably start heading to class before it gets too late. Matthew agreed and the group left the dining hall together before going their separate ways.

"Mateo, you have your schedule right?" Carlos asked, Matthew nodded and while the two continued to walk to the second wing of the school the Canadian managed to fish out his schedule and replied,

"Yes, my first class is Algebra II, with Mrs. Agarwal." Matthew folded the paper up and placed it in his pants pocket. The Cuban nodded and told him her room would be down the first hall and after that two more right turns, and it would be the first room on the left.

"All right adios Mateo. I'll see you later at lunch okay?" Carlos grinned before turning to walk in the opposite direction. Matthew nodded and went on his way to his first class of the day.

The first thing Matthew noticed about the classroom was that it was huge. Instead of individual desks the students all sat in long tables parallel to the front of the room. There were five of these long tables and there were seven seats to a row, each perfectly spaced apart. In the front of the room was a large expo board and in the center of it was a 'Smart Board'. The walls were painted a dark color in contrast to the white floor making the walls seem taller than they probably were. Along the wall opposite the door were two large windows to let in natural light as well as give a spectacular view of the ocean. The teacher's desk was at the front of the room on the left side (if one was standing at the back of the class room behind the desks) and the desk was large and made of a dark treated cherry-wood. On the top if it sat a sleek looking computer and a few binders marked and labeled 'Lesson Plans', 'First Day Assignments', etc. On the very corner of said desk was a small picture frame, what it held Matthew wasn't entirely sure of because it wasn't facing his way. Mrs. Agarwal herself was an Indian woman, slightly short in stature and spoke with a slight accent. Despite that her smile warm lighthearted and sincere and when Matthew walked in she went up to him and shook his hand asking for his name and introducing herself. Afterwards she pointed to his assigned seat and Matthew nodded moving quickly so that she could greet the other students who had shown up and that had begun to file into the classroom.

Matthew sat down at his seat, opened up his bag and pulled out a spiral notebook and black ink pen ready to take down notes when class started. When he decided he was set for the class Matthew retreated back into his own little world, lost in his thoughts. His wandering mind was brought back to the strange occurrence that happened last night. _'Why was Ivan wandering around the academy last night?'_ He wondered. _'And why did Carlos tell me to stay away from him? Did something happen between them? Or is it something else?'_

Entranced in his own thoughts he didn't notice the person next to him until he received a large slap to the back and a voice practically shouting in his ear,

"Hey Matty! Good to see you man!" Matthew nearly jumped out of his eat from shock and the Canadian had to force the cry to stay in his throat. Matthew looked up from his seat and found Alfred standing beside him, grinning from ear to ear flashing his pearly white teeth.

"P-please don't do that, and please don't call me 'Matty'…" Matthew mumbled in his usual soft voice. The American didn't seem to have heard him and the other blonde took a seat next to him and continued to speak to him calling him 'Matty' even though the Canadian had just told him not too less than five seconds ago.

"Anyway I can't believe I lucked out and get to sit next to you for this class; normally I have all my math classes sitting next to someone I don't know, or Señor Dreadlocks… ugh…" The other shuddered before turning to Matthew who was slightly confused. He couldn't mean Carlos, right? Carlos was a bit gruff yes, but to Matthew he seemed to be quite nice. "Luckily I changed my math classes, but I feel bad for you 'cause I heard you're the one who has to room with him."

Matthew looked at Alfred incredulously, "Why? He's really nice. You two may not get along but I don't have a problem being his roommate."

Alfred laughed, "He's nice?! Ha, Ha. If you say so, next thing you know you'll be calling Ivan a saint!"

Matthew understood why Alfred was laughing at the fact that Carlos and he don't get along, but why Ivan? The Canadian's curiosity surrounding the Russian and why people reacted to him in the ways they did grew and he asked point blank, "What do you mean? What happened with Ivan?"

Alfred had the look of realization wash over his face before he shook his head replying as he did so, "Oh, that's right you're new here, you don't know what happened. Forget the last part of my previous statement then."

And with that the American turned away to fish out a few things from his own bag. Matthew decided to let it go for now, he knew that if he continued to pester Alfred about it the American wouldn't tell him anything. Never the less Matthew turned to face the front of the classroom as Mrs. Agarwal had finished going around to all the students and she then proceeded to start the class

The rest of Matthew's teachers he found to be quite enjoyable and very helpful. After he had his Algebra II class he went to Chemistry with Mr. Lloyd. The man was a fresh out of college teacher and seemed both excited and nervous to be teaching at the school. He was a slightly tall man with pale blue eyes and had the tendency to mumble in Spanish whenever he got frustrated. Matthew was a bit concerned when he first entered the class considering science (of any kind) wasn't his strongest subject. Yet his fears would put to ease when he found out that the students would be working in pairs, and (according to a few students who sat behind him) Matthew had hit the 'jackpot' when he was paired up with his lab partner. The Canadian had been paired up with Eduard, the violinist. The other teen was rather polite and offered to help explain anything to Matthew if he needed.

From chemistry Matthew went to his literary class taught by Mr. Clow, and out of the teachers Matthew had seem so far that day he seemed to be more on the eccentric side. A man of contradictions Matthew noted the man was of average height, brown hair and eyes, and dressed like any normal teacher, but his methods were in no way average. He was loud and full of energy, not to mention unafraid to poke jokes at the students who gave him attitude and those who whispered things behind his back. Matthew didn't sit next to anyone he knew, not that he really knew anyone to begin with. By the time Matthew was done with his literary class he was tired, despite the fact that this was only the first day. The Canadian reasoned with himself it was more than likely due to him running back and forth to his classes. The next class on his list was World history with Ms. Garcia. Ms. Garcia was a petite woman with dark brown hair and hazel eyes; she was very quiet and almost sort of shy around the students. And her class was the only one that administered textbooks to the students; she said that this way all the students had a textbook with them and that they wouldn't have to check one out to do their homework.

Finally much to Matthew's relief he only had to get through this one last regular classes, Advanced French III, though it was also the class that he is most nervous about, being an underclassman in a class that was mostly upperclassmen, students who were at least one year or two years his seniors. He took a deep breath and walked into the classroom.

When Matthew entered the classroom the Canadian's jaw dropped. The walls were high like in the other classrooms, but instead of being dark colored the walls were bright, a slightly pinkish color with the opposite wall nearly covered by glass creating a large window. All the other students were older than Matthew and looked at him, as well as at themselves as if wondering what the young Canadian was doing there. Matthew felt heat rising in his cheeks and he wanted to hide.

"Mathieu?" a familiar voice questioned. Matthew looked about the room and spotted Francis who smiled at him. The taller blonde bid farewell to an effeminate boy he was more than likely flirting with and went up Matthew taking both hands in his and pecking the spectacled boy on both cheeks. The Canadian blushed furiously at how 'friendly' the Frenchman was.

"Bonjour petit Mathieu!" Francis spoke cheerfully putting an arm around his shoulders. Matthew still blushed furiously. "So tell me what brings you here?"

Matthew swallowed hard, not entirely comfortable with how close the other was, "U-um, this is my next class… so well"-

Francis stared at Matthew a look of shock clear on his face, "Vraiment? You are taking this class? C'est Merveilleux! Come, come, and sit with me over here."

Matthew's face was as red as a tomato but he didn't protest or struggle as the taller student led him over to a desk next to his. All the while the young Canadian received a few jealous stares by some of the other students, though Matthew who was a bit naïve didn't really notice.

The classroom was brought to a screeching silence as Madame Alexandrie entered the room. She was a slightly tall woman, a relatively attractive woman with her brown hair pulled up into a bun and she wore a black dress outfit and skirt along with a pair of black pumps. While true she had a pretty face she was all business. And she seemed to be quite interested in Matthew, seeming surprised herself that he had managed to get into that class.

The class ended forty-five minutes later and Matthew collected his belongings to head over to the dining hall Francis caught him as he was heading out the door walking with him to the lunch hall. Matthew talked with him and had to fight the blush threatening to break out across his face as he noticed how touchy the other was. It wasn't as if he was touching him in any place he shouldn't but… it made Matthew blush at the way Francis seemed to be reaching over and placing a hand on his shoulder or back. Luckily they arrived at the dining hall and Matthew said his goodbyes to Francis and quickly fled finding Carlos who was trying not to laugh at him.

"Well, well, well, it seems you've attracted some unwanted attention eh, amigo?" the Cuban laughed and Matthew pouted replying,

"It's not like I asked for it to happen! It's just... I don't know he was just being friendly that's all..."

"Oh yeah he was being real friendly, just make sure he keeps it above the waist." Matthew blushed a deep crimson and reached give to give the Cuban a playful shove to the side.

Lunch when compared to the rest of the day seemed short; again he sat with Carlos along with Tino, and Berwald. Tino talking with wondering how Matthew was liking the academy and Carlos teasing him about how Francis was obviously trying to get close enough to grope him. When lunch ended Tino, and Berwald walked to their next class together since they all had the same one, art with Mr. Dowe. Matthew told Carlos he'd see him later.

The classroom they walked to was very different than the ones Matthew had gone too earlier in the day, the walls didn't seem as high or grand there were small tables that sat four to a table, eight tables in all. The room had many canvasses lining the walls and various art supplies throughout the room. Mr. Dowe sat behind his desk sketching something on a canvass with charcoal. When he noticed the trio he stood up and wiped his hand on his smock before greeting them and telling them to go and take a seat wherever they wanted to sit. Mr. Dowe was a tall man with long light brown hair held in a low braid with green eyes, and even though he more than likely didn't, the man could pass as a druggie. Tino invited Matthew to sit with him and Berwald and Matthew had no problem with it.

"So Matthew tell me, do you have any sketches with you? Can I take a look?" Tino asked inquisitively. Matthew nodded and pulled out his sketchbook and let the Finn take a look.

"Wow, you're really good Matthew!" Tino praised and Matthew blushed.

"T-thanks." The Canadian replied. The blonde felt a light tap on his shoulder and Matthew looked and saw a tiny boy standing behind him shivering slightly,

"U-um, is t-that s-seat taken? W-would it b-be okay if I s-sit h-here?" the boy was a pale blonde with bright blue eyes. Tino said that he could and told the teen, Raivis, to not worry.

The class started not long afterwards and Mr. Dowe took his place in front of the class and spoke to them,

"Now, you all are here because you exhibit a strong talent for the visual arts. Now art itself is something that you yourself define, and that you as students make. I can give you the supplies you need, but in return you must supply yourself with the inspiration. Which can come from anywhere, you put effort into your art, and there s no reason for me to give you a failing grade. Now, take your time and fill out these few sheets so that I can get to know a bit about you."

Matthew liked that teacher, and looked forward to future classes. That class lasted two hours and by the end of the class period Matthew was longing to head outside to explore the school grounds and the island. He walked to his room to go and drop of his school things and as he walked down the oddly empty hallway a deep rich sound reached his ears.

It was music, a deep, low sound that was slow and elegant, if not a little sad. Matthew followed the sound and found a room with the door slightly ajar. Matthew couldn't help but take a quick look and held in a gasp as he saw Ivan playing a large double bass. The Russian's eyes were closed as he drew the bow across the instrument effortlessly the whole thing seeming to be of second nature. As the song drew to an end Matthew quickly backed away from the door and rushed down the hall, slightly afraid of being caught, as to why he was afraid he did not know, nor understand.

Matthew reached his shared room with a final sigh before depositing his school bag and text book. He was relieved with the first day to be over, and now had some free time to wander about the academy grounds and explore the rest of the island.

Matthew quickly and somewhat easily made his way out of the academy and took a deep breath of the fresh sea air. It sent a slight shiver up his spine and it filled him full of energy. He walked down the path he had first taken when he arrived at the academy, he stepped away from the path once he got a good distance away from the academy building he stepped off the path a went walking along the grass. The island looked as if it were a picture from a book, soft grasses and numerous little flowers, as he continued to cross the island the Canadian noticed a few small trees growing scattered apart from each other.

_'It's so peaceful here…' _the Canadian thought. _'It's a place where I could actually think, clear my mind.'_

Matthew walked to one of the trees and took a seat in its shade, closing his eyes and listening to the wind and the sounds of the ocean. The questions from earlier and the worries from the day seemed to have vanished. For how long he sat there he didn't know, but it must've been well over an hour before he moved and decided to get up and head back to the academy building so that he could shower and change before heading to dinner.

The Canadian stretched his leg muscles before standing up and brushing the dirt off his backside. As the young teen walked back he was forced to stop as a powerful gust of wind seemed to cut through him. Matthew covered his face and he felt a horrible sense of unease set in his bones. 'An omen?' he thought. Shaking it off as nothing Matthew picked up the pace and trotted back. When he got closer Matthew noticed another student sitting dangerously close to the cliff's edge, body hunched over slightly as if he was in pain or going to be sick. Concerned Matthew rushed over to talk a closer look, but stopped ten feet away from the person eyes widening as he recognized who it was.

His uniform was now dirty, dirt and dust covered his back, bleeding from a swollen lip and scratch on his forehead, but it was Ivan Braginski all the same. The older teen glanced at Matthew with a wary, if not somewhat uncaring stare. Matthew gulped slightly wondering what in the hell happened to him.

"I-Ivan?" the Canadian called nervously, the other turned his head towards him, a slightly perplexed look crossing his features. Almost as if he was wondering how Matthew knew his name. Despite that though the Russian remained silent, not even bothering to even grunt or nod to even let the other know that he even heard him. Matthew, despite his current situation grew a little insulted by the act but held his position continuing to say,

"P-please, you're bleeding let me help"-

"Nyet. I'm fine, just please leave me alone…" Ivan cut him off. The other then turned away and tried to put a bit more distance between them, however his left eye clenched shut betraying how much pain he truly was in. Matthew, despite every sane part of his brain saying not to, went forward and reached his hand to grab a hold of the Russian's shoulder to steady him.

The glare the other sent him nearly made him wish he hadn't. Shoving Matthew's hand away from him the taller male stood to his full height. In that moment Matthew felt so small, and a little terrified. With a now enraged Russian staring down at him the Canadian had only one thought in mind.

_'Mon Dieu…' _

* * *

Okay, here is chapter three, and it's a good sized chapter I will say that, though I'm still nervous that this may seem a bit boring and I don't want to bore you kind readers. But I hope I made it up towards the end, and yeah sorry for the lack of dialogue and stuff happening, but I threw in Francis and all his craziness… -gets bricked- yeah…well thank you for reading, thanks to all those who favorite and set an alert, and reviewed this fic. Also chorizo is a type of meat that you cook with potatoes, or egg or both. You then put in a flour or corn tortilla and then just yum! Also to AmfibiefiskenLarry, I wish I could see the correct spelling for Iceland's name that I gave him, I wish I could have gotten to you sooner about it but, I'm sorry, perhaps you could describe the letter, since whenever I try to do a google all I end up getting is the spelling I used, and I thank you so much for your help. Also sorry it took so long to update, life got in the way and then I ended up messing my hand up on some glass… but anyway thank you so much for reading and please (if you want) set an alert/favorite/review.~Sandshinobi00

P.S- for those who don't know a double bass is in simple terms a gaint chello. plays very low notes. just in case no one knows, yeah, hope you guys approve of what I picked for Ivan to have as a talent. :3


	4. Reaching Out

Matthew flinched as Ivan stared at him. The young Canadian suppressed a shiver and refused to step back. Although Ivan was injured and it was obvious he was using most of his energy to stand, Matthew still had reason to be cautious. The other male was so much larger than he was, and looked that (if he wanted to) could do some serious damage. After a few tense seconds the Russian's eyes softened and he lowered his head.

"Mne yhal`, I didn't mean to snap at you… just please leave me alone." Ivan spoke his voice was soft, and despite his large size sounded almost like a child. The silver-haired male then clutched at his side, as though it pained him. Matthew looked on and felt a pang of sympathy for him knowing that it more than likely did. The Canadian swallowed the lump in his throat and took a deep breath before speaking.

"B-but please, I just want to help." The blonde pleaded softly. Ivan's eyes narrowed, clearly distrusting him. The Russian shook his head and turned away walking back to the academy with a slight limp.

"It is for your own good. Just stay away from me…" the violet-eyed teen said.

Matthew stood and watched for a few more moments before letting out a confused and slightly frustrated sigh. He looked down on the ground and noticed a few droplets of blood on the grass. The blonde's eyes were drawn to a small white flower, its soft white petals partly stained crimson with blood. Some morbid part of his mind wanted to reach out and caress the tiny bloom but Matthew (who horrified that he had such a thought) didn't. When he looked up again the Canadian made notice of how far Ivan had walked (limped). The teen was slowly trekking up the steps at the front of the main building. Apparently Matthew had spaced out for longer than he realized. Even though Matthew wanted to quickly head back to the academy because it was getting late, he also wanted to give the other the space he wanted, so he forced himself to walk. During his walk back Matthew focused on what the older teen had said. _'What does he mean by it's for my own good that I stay away?' _surely if the Russian had meant to cause him harm he would've done so, right? _'He's got such lonely eyes too… what could cause a person to have such eyes?'_ he wondered to himself.

When Matthew had finally reached the academy's steps Ivan was long gone. The Canadian wondered if the teen had managed to make it to the infirmary or if he even went at all. In any event Matthew pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and went upstairs to his room. Carlos was sitting at his desk when he came in already working on his homework. The Cuban glanced up at him and grinned,

"Hey where have you been? It's almost time for dinner."

""Sorry, I went outside and just… lost track of time." Matthew replied quietly. It wasn't as if he was completely lying, he really did lose track of time. He thought it would be best if he left out the fact that he had seen and 'talked', if you will, with Ivan.

Carlos cocked his head to the side and looked at him curiously. Matthew wondered if he had been caught on his lie but let out a small breath of relief when Carlos' brown eyes glanced away. Taking advantage of the newly created opportunity the Canadian grabbed a fresh set of clothes and quickly slipped into the bathroom to shower.

The blonde shut the door behind him and locked it before turning on the water to let it warm up. In the meantime Matthew placed his clean clothes on the counter as well as his glasses. The young ten quickly shed his clothes and stepped into the hot water. He sighed contently as the water washed over his skin and loosened his muscles. He reached for the bottle of shampoo (the academy provided shampoo, soap, and other toiletries, even conditioner) and got it into a good lather before putting it in his hair. He washed his body next and rinsed off before shutting off the water and getting out. Fresh towels were placed on a rack near the shower, just above the toilet, and he grabbed one wrapping it around his slender waist. The Canadian wiped off the mirror and dried off, towel drying his golden locks of hair and getting into his clean clothes. The blonde put his dirty uniform in the hamper on the other side of the room and stepped out towel still partly on his head.

His Cuban roommate had moved from his desk to lounging on his bed. The older of the two slightly dozing off. The blonde smiled a little finding the sight kind of cute. He gently shook the darker skinned male and Carlos yawned and sat up asking what time it was.

"Time to go." Matthew stated, it was 5:50 pm and in about ten minutes the dining hall would be full of students. The Cuban stretched his arms and stood up and the two made their way to the dining hall.

During dinner Matthew couldn't really bring himself to talk or be as lively as his friends were. While Tino chatted happily with Berwald, and Damian and Carlos laughed and joked around Matthew was silent. He glanced around the room using his peripheral vision trying to find Ivan. The Russian was nowhere to be found and Matthew was worried for him. The Canadian also questioned was he was so worried. It wasn't as if he really knew him but… he was hurt and the blonde had a very compassionate nature.

'Don't make such a big deal out of it.' He told himself. 'It's not your problem… what happens to him is none of your concern.'

Yet no matter how many times he told himself that, Matthew couldn't get rid of the twisted feeling in the pit of his stomach.

---

Three weeks had passed since Matthew had first arrived at Hetalia Academy, and he had blended into the school rather well. He had made some new friends outside those that he ate dinner and breakfast with. He was a good student and managed to win over his teachers with his shy and kind personality. However despite all this he had one little secret that he refused to tell anyone. Every day after classes Matthew would go and wait outside Ivan's room and listen to him play. At first the Canadian found it strange and, well, downright weird that he was doing such things. But Matthew was entranced by his music. Each piece he played was slow and elegant; many times they were sad, as if telling a story of melancholy souls and lost love. It was like nothing Matthew had ever heard before. The Canadian had not spoken to the Russian since his first day and the incident near the cliff. During that time the younger teen would notice at how the silver-haired male would be bruised one week and fine the other, a slightly disturbing pattern. As those short weeks went by the young blonde could see how tired the other seemed, and how dead his beautiful eyes appeared.

Matthew looked up from his painting; it was of a mother polar bear with its only cub. The school was having a short of gala, showing off what the students had been working on since the start of the school year. He had just a few more hours to get it done before it would be placed just outside the school's auditorium where the other students would perform.

"I like it." Matthew nearly jumped not expecting someone to speak. He looked up and saw Mr. Dowe standing behind him. The man smiled and Matthew quickly relaxed. "I really like at how human the bears look, the interplay between mother and child. Great work." The Canadian blushed at the praise and nodded a small thanks. Matthew set his brushes aside and decided he had done what he had set out to do and could now begin cleaning up.

The blonde took his painting and put it in a corner to dry and quickly put the paints away in their designated areas. The brushes were rinsed off and put into a special holder to air dry. Matthew said his good-byes to Mr. Dowe as he removed his smock and headed out the art room door.

The Canadian headed back to his room hoping to be able to take a nap before this evening when a flash of something small and fluffy darted across the floor. At first Matthew thought it was just the light coming through the window and his mind playing tricks on him. Yet when a slightly distraught Tino came from around the corner the spectacled teen knew something was up. He stopped in his tracks and Tino nearly yelped as he saw him.

"O-oh, h-hey Matthew!" Tino spoke shakily, as if he was hiding something. "W-what are you doing here?"

Matthew blinked and stared at the other blonde, "Nothing I was just going to go back to my room and take a nap. Then I saw this oversized cotton ball run across the floor…"

"An oversized cotton ball?" The Finn stated, adding a nervous laugh at the end of his statement. Matthew gave the other an odd look but stopped when he heard a small yap down by his feet. The blue-eyed boy looked down and saw a small white dog staring straight back up at him. It was a fluffy little thing with beady black eyes and it wagged its stump of a tail wanting to play with the Canadian.

"What's a puppy doing here?" Matthew finally asked, resisting the urge to reach down and cuddle the small creature.

"Hanatamago!" Tino exclaimed. The dog turned towards him and ran up to him allowing the Finn to scoop it up in his arms. "There you are girl." Her response was a lick to her owner's nose. Tino then turned his attention back to Matthew and he pleaded.

"Please, please, please don't tell anyone else I have her here. I didn't get permission to have her here and no one else can know about this. Please Matthew don't tell anyone else about Hanatamago." Tino's large light brown eyes begged for Matthew to keep his secret and the Canadian couldn't help but to oblige him. Matthew asked that if he wasn't supposed to have Hanatamago then what was he doing with her out in the halls where somebody could see her. Tino's answer was that he was taking her somewhere else to hide her while the staff helped to move his and Berwald's (they were roommates after all) artworks to the downstairs auditorium. And on the way over the tiny dog wiggled out of his grasp and she took off on her own.

This brought them back to their current situation. The Finn shook his head from side to side; eyes shifting looked out for anyone else.

"Okay, since you already know about my little baby I need your help in moving her." Tino said nodding as if to emphasize his point. "Come with me and make sure that no one else sees us."

Matthew stood stiff for about three seconds, pondering if the other boy was serious or not. When the other took off the Canadian immediately realized that, yes, Tino had meant every word and Matthew really had no other option at this point than to obey. Matthew rolled his eyes and went after Tino who had managed to gain a good distance between the two. The pair quickly scampered down the large halls and would freeze every time they heard a pair of footsteps that was not theirs. The two blondes ran up one flight of stairs and down three more halls before Tino led them to where he had planned on hiding Hanatamago.

Tino sighed with relief when they reached the door while Matthew stood behind him slightly panting, cursing himself for being 'out of shape'. The older teen then tapped lightly a few times on the door and when it opened Matthew was surprised to see whom Tino had picked to entrust his precious 'baby'. It was none other than Eduard, Matthew's lab partner and one of Tino's close friends. The spectacled boy opened his door took one look at Tino, Matthew, and Hanatamago before saying,

"Good afternoon Tino, Matthew. And no I will not be responsible for her, you know what'll happen if the school finds her here and"-

"I know… but Eddy please! It'll only be for a few hours and besides you know no one will find out if she's with you and Raivis. Just please!" Tino cut the other teen off and made his eyes go huge and round before pulling his tiny cloud of a dog up in front of him. Eduard put his palm to his face and Tino pouted before adding, "Also you should just go ahead and agree because you know Raivis will take my side."

Eduard's eye twitched almost comically before he relented and allowed Tino to go inside and make sure the dog got settled. "Just make sure she doesn't chew on my bow, I can't afford to get it replaced on such short notice."

The green-eyed boy then moved for Matthew in step inside and he shut the door. "So how did you manage to get involved with this, eh Matthew?" he asked.

The Canadian shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Well, Tino says she got loose and I saw her by accident."

Eduard nodded, "Well what's done is done. And it goes without saying that you shouldn't tell anyone of what you saw." With that the taller spectacled boy moved and went over to pack of his violin in its case. The bathroom door opened and Raivis came out his hair slightly damp, obviously just finishing taking a shower. The tiny boy smiled at Matthew before spotting Tino along with Hanatamago.

"Hana!" the small blonde exclaimed before kneeling down to pet the puppy. For once the little Latvian wasn't shivering as his usually does and Matthew cocked his head to the side. Tino stood up from the bed he had sat on and stated while patting Eduard on the back,

"Well, Now that that's all settled I'll be back in a couple of hours. Let's go Matthew."

The Finn walked past the Canadian and opened the door and the two stepped out. Matthew glanced back to see Raivis holding the dog and Eduard's anxious face had softened into a smile. The moment seemed so intimate that Matthew looked away feeling that he shouldn't have seen it.

After the episode with Tino and his dog Matthew was finally able to retreat to him room and sleep. The room was empty when he arrived and the Canadian suspected Carlos had gone down to the auditorium to check over what would happen that evening since he had to perform. The blonde threw himself onto his bed and curled up beneath the blankets before drifting off into a heavy sleep.

It was several hours later when Matthew was gently woken up. The Canadian poked his head out from underneath the covers and blinked at Carlos who laughed. Matthew shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to straighten it out. The Cuban chuckled at the bird's nest that was Matthew's hair and handed him his glasses.

"Hola amigo, welcome back to the world of the living." The taller male spoke sitting beside the younger. "You ready to start going downstairs? I want to take a look at which art piece is yours. They have everything all set up."

Matthew perked up a little and nodded getting up. "Okay sure, just give me five minutes."

The Cuban nodded and moved off the bed replying, "Okay I'll meet you downstairs then, adiós."

With that Carlos left the room and made his way downstairs. Matthew combed out his hair and smoothed out a few wrinkles in his clothes before putting on his shoes to go meet up with Carlos. When the blonde went out into the hallway he could sense the excitement that hung in the air. There was the sound of numerous footfalls going up and down the halls and stairs. Not to mention the sound of boys' voices and those of the staff trying to keep everything under control. Matthew quickly descended the stairs heading over to the right wing where the auditorium was located. It was impossible to miss since that was where all the boys were going to; all you had to do was follow the crowd. The blonde squeezed his way through the crowd of boys and looked all around trying to find his roommate.

While he was distracted he didn't notice the person standing beside him until said person put an arm around his shoulders. He nearly jumped in the person's arms and he looked over his right shoulder and saw a cat-like Francis grinning at him.

"Bonjour Mathieu, you excited for this evening's festivities?" the elder blonde asked pulling the smaller closer. Matthew's cheeks turned pink and he nodded slowly,

"O-oui. Um, what are you going to be doing?"

Francis' grin seemed to grow even more looking down at the nervous Canadian before replying, "Well, I'm performing twice this evening, once with our chorus group and the other with the theater. Now you are in art which one of these lovely works is yours?"

Matthew looked down the halls which had the works of the art classes along both sides of the walls and pointed when he saw it. "It's that one, the blue and white one."

The Frenchman looked over and pulled the Canadian along with him as they went to take a look. Francis briefly released him and walked up close to the painting and smiled.

"How sweet, you did this?" he asked. Matthew blushed even more and nodded. The taller blonde noticed his reddening cheeks and wanted nothing more than to take the blonde and smother him against his chest with hugs. However he refrained from doing so and settled for a small hug of congratulations.

"Mateo! Mateo, there you are!" the Canadian heard Carlos call. Francis quickly released him and said his good-byes before the Cuban came up. The darkly tanned male cursed a few times in Spanish before he was able to get through the crowds and he stood beside Matthew.

"There you are I've been looking all over for you man." He said a slight frown upon his lips. Matthew apologized and the Cuban told him it was no big deal. Again Matthew received more praise from his friends and Carlos then said that he had saw Francis with him earlier.

"Oh, well he was just saying hi that's all he wanted to see my painting." Matthew explained. The Cuban raised a curious brow but said no more on the subject. Instead he changed the topic of conversation to whether or not Matthew wanted to go to the 'after party' on the western beach of the island.

"It's just a small party, there's going to be a bonfire and for us to mess around. You don't have to decide if you want to go right now but just think about okay?"

Matthew didn't get the chance to respond as the staff members began to usher the students into the auditorium to their seats and the performers backstage. The two separated and Matthew told Carlos to 'break a leg' before going to sit down. The Canadian managed to find Berwald (though it would be near impossible to miss that big guy) and Tino who waved him over to go and sit with them. And the trio waited for the gala to begin.

The show started off with the theater students doing a small skit to get it started, and then it moved to the dancers. Their bodies flawlessly moving all in time with each other and each movement graceful and powerful. Then the chorus students came out and performed small series of songs such as 'Fireflies' and 'Broken Vow'. All in perfect harmony, so much so they had no need for music. The guitarists played afterwards and doing their performance Carlos had a solo in which Antonio came back on stage to dance while the Cuban played. The Spaniard danced in beat of the guitar and smiled reflecting the life and spice of Latin music and it was felt throughout the audience. Finally there was only the orchestra left to perform. The students moved to their places on stage and Matthew spotted Ivan. The Russian was along the back with two other Bass players. Matthew found himself watching him the whole time while they played a shortened version of Tchaikovsky's 'Romeo and Juliet'. Matthew felt his heart pound in time with the music and the orchestra received a standing ovation when they finished.

The gala was over and Matthew had decided not to go with Carlos, Tino and Berwald to the gathering on the beach. The Cuban seemed a bit disappointed but he promised to make as little noise as he could when he came back to the room. Matthew laughed and he left to go upstairs while the other students filed out of the academy all together.

The Canadian went up the stairs making a mental list of things for him to do before he went to bed. When he made it to the top of the stairs on the floor of his room his heart stopped. Walking down the hall was Ivan Braginski. Matthew felt his cheeks burn, though he didn't understand why. _'I should congratulate him, the performance was great… no, I can't do that…' _Matthew wanted to talk to the Russian but at the same time he remembered the last time he tried to and was reluctant to do it again. Matthew swallowed the lump in his throat before walking down the hall, he wasn't sure of what he was doing, so he just went with the flow. However when the taller male stopped and turned to face him his mind went blank and he froze.

"Why are you following me?" he asked. His voice dead, cold and detached. The moonlight coming in through the window gave him a ghostly, other worldly glow.

"Wh-What makes you think I'm following you?" Matthew stated trying not to stutter and keep his voice firm. His mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton and his palms grew sweaty.

The Russian cocked his head to the side and replied dully, "Because you passed your room. And I know you've been visiting my room everyday afterschool when I rehearse. Do not take me for a fool little one."

The Canadian's ears burned and he had been caught. With those violet eyes on him he looked down replying, "Sorry, I just wanted to say that you play beautifully. Forgive me for causing you any trouble."

Ivan's hardened face seemed to have softened, puzzled light shown in his eyes and he said, "It's okay, but, why are you doing this? Do you have any idea of what the others will do if they find out?"

Matthew looked the other in the eye and grew frustrated, "Is that all? Ever since I've been here all anyone can do is tell me to stay away and I'm left with questions and no answers! Then I try to help you and you tell me to back off 'for my own good', that the others won't do anything if I do. I've had no reason to be scared of you, and no has given me one not even you, the person people 'warn' me about! Just what will happen?"

The blonde huffed and crossed his arms. The Russian looked at Matthew, seeming surprised at his guts and sudden outburst. Then he laughed making the smaller male give him an odd look.

"You are strange little one. Full of questions that cannot be answered, however if you wish to you can come and listen. I wouldn't mind the company." The Russian chuckled, amused by the Canadian.

And with that Ivan turned and left a confused and happy Matthew. Sure he gained no answers to his questions but he had made a connection. That would do for now, perhaps things would reveal themselves in time. He told himself and he returned to his room for the night.

* * *

_Okay here is an update and well yeah… some notes. Yes the students are allowed to have their pets at the academy but they have to have a waiver. Tino didn't get his so he had to sneak Hanatamago to the school. This also means that yes Hercules has two cats with him and Gilbert and has Gilbird. Also the reason for Tino using Raivis as an excuse is because Eduard and Raivis are an "in the closet couple" only Tino and Berwald know. And Eduard's reluctance to help is because when he was a first year he and Tino would get into a lot of trouble, so he doesn't want a repeat of that. Lol._

_Wow, thank you all of my kind readers, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I thank you so much for reading and all the reviews and favorites, along with alerts. I appreciate them all. I hope this chapter was okay, I'm afraid that I may have rushed things but I hope that you still liked it. Thanks to AmfibiefishkenLarry for your help with names, I'm so very grateful to all those who help and give me advice on how to make my writing. Thank you all so much and thank you so much for your support, I love you all. And with that said thanks again and if you liked please favorite/set an alert/review!~ **Sandshinobi00**_


	5. By the Sea

Dawn came sooner than Matthew would've liked. As the sun's gentle rays filtered into the dormitory in which he shared the Canadian yawned and resisted the urge to pull the covers back over his head. A series of soft snores coming from the other side of the room alerted him that Carlos had returned and was still sleeping, obviously exhausted from the previous evening's festivities. The Canadian sat up in his bed yawning softly and stretching his limbs. Reaching blindly for his glasses Matthew quickly retrieved them and placed them delicately on his face. Vision restored the blonde quietly removed himself from his cozy bed and began to quickly dress. Even though it was a Saturday the blonde was a naturally early riser and he decided to go and grab an early breakfast since he suspected it would be a while before Carlos would awaken. Shrugging out of his pajamas (a large white shirt and loose fitting pants) and into his school uniform the blonde silently exited the room and made his way over to the dining hall.

Just as Matthew expected the hallways were empty, most if not all the students still asleep in their dormitories. For once the busy walkways were silent, save for the sound of Matthew's footfalls. Once at the dining room Matthew glanced about for a small table to sit at to eat. His bright blue eyes caught the sight of Ivan Braginski and he immediately recalled their previous evening conversation. _'I wonder, would he be upset if I asked to sit with him? I mean sure he said he wouldn't mind company, I wonder if he only meant for listening to him practice, where no one could see…'_ the blonde looked at the other, who was contently sipping at what Matthew suspect was a hot cup of tea. Releasing a small sigh of confusion and slight agitation the Canadian decided to go ahead and ask anyway, if for nothing else than to be friendly. Steeling his nerves the younger male began to walk over to the other. The Russian glanced up from his drink as the Canadian approached, a curious brow rose.

"Matthew." The silver haired youth said.

"Hello Ivan," the blonde started his voice soft. "Would you mind if I sat with you?"

Ivan gave the other an incredulous stare for a few brief moments and Matthew expected for him to refuse. When the other nodded Matthew was pleasantly surprised and responded with a small 'thank you' as he sat down. The Russian continued to stare at Matthew for a while longer; his sharp eyes making Matthew fidget slightly in his seat. The awkward silence quickly became something and Matthew began to feel extremely uncomfortable. Shifting in his seat Matthew spoke again hoping to break the rising tension.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" he asked, hoping the other would take the hint and cease.

"No reason, I was simply thinking that is all. Sorry." Ivan replied smoothly returning to his unfinished cup of tea.

"Thinking about what?" Matthew pressed curiously.

"…It is nothing." Was his answer. Matthew repressed an agitated sigh at the Russian's vagueness but let it go quickly remembering he had no place to get frustrated with a student he barely knew.

A staff member came by and retrieved breakfast orders, Ivan simply asked for a refill and Matthew had pancakes with a glass of orange juice. The two males sat for a while longer in an awkward silence before the Canadian decided to try and talk to Ivan.

"Look, I'm sorry if, that, this is awkward but um, I was wondering… would you mind hanging out with me today, like to get to know more about each other. If you don't want to I understand, but um…" Matthew was trying to word the question carefully. He stole a nervous glance at the Russian to read the other's expression and predict the possible answer he would give.

Ivan rested his chin in the palm of his hand and closed his violet eyes for a second in contemplation before answering, "Sure, sounds nice. Just remember that you're committing social suicide by hanging around me." At the end of his reply the taller added a dark chuckle and Matthew rolled his eyes.

"Who I choose to be around is no one else's business but my own." The Canadian added firmly meeting the other's steely gaze. Ivan let a half smirk cross his lips.

"Well spoken, Matthew."

The pair spoke no more as the staff returned with breakfast and the blonde ate quickly noticing how late the morning was getting. More students would be leaving their dormitories for breakfast and even though Matthew didn't want to admit it, even to himself, he was anxious about others' reactions to him being around Ivan. _'Calm down you idiot,'_ Matthew told himself _'you said yourself that who you have as friends is no one else's business, now stand by it.'_ Settling the nerves in the pit of his stomach Matthew ate the last morsel of maple covered pancake and stood up, Ivan following him. A few students filed into the room as they left, staring at them and beginning to whisper to each other in a mixture of shock and confusion. Matthew tried to ignore it while Ivan was unaffected by their behavior having grown used to it long ago.

The silver haired teen walked beside Matthew and muttered quietly, "You seem unnerved, if you wish to continue I know of a secluded section of beach on the island. Would that make you more comfortable if we went there?"

The blue eyed Canadian nodded, grateful for Ivan's small gesture. It was really rather kind of him to offer that, especially since Matthew was the one who seemed to be more interested in getting to know him. Ivan grunted in acknowledgement and picked up the pace taking the lead, "This way."

Matthew followed Ivan as he quickly headed down the hallways weaving around students heading towards the exit. For someone as tall as Ivan he was surprisingly quick on his feet and Matthew had to actually try to keep up with him. Once outside of the building and away from prying eyes Matthew felt a little better. Ivan glanced back at Matthew before walking off again, although Matthew had only been to the island beach once he knew that there was a staircase that led down from the cliff. Ivan was heading in the complete opposite direction. Still the blonde trusted him and after a ten minute walk to another cliff edge on the opposite side of the academy Ivan paused and waited for the smaller to catch up.

"It is down here, there is a small ledge but it is narrow so be careful not to misstep." Ivan spoke before lowering himself down the side to the ledge. He waited and made sure that Matthew made it safely before maneuvering farther down the ledge. The Canadian was a bit more nervous as he noticed how high up they were but pressed on. When they reached the bottom Matthew looked around at the new strip of beach. The waves crashed gently against the worn down shore and large boulders lay scattered down the coast. Each mostly buried in the sand with the tops or part of a side sticking up, some were covered with moss.

"Come, you wish to talk let's get started, sit here." The Russian said walking to a large boulder and climbed on top of it taking a seat facing the open ocean. Ivan looked at Matthew expectantly and the Canadian climbed up beside him, feeling the cool sea breeze on his face.

Settling onto a dry patch of moss Matthew turned to the older male, who was looking out to the sea.

"So, Ivan um, when or how did you start playing the double bass?" Matthew asked. In truth the question was a harmless, if not arbitrary, which was what Matthew was going for. The Russian turned his sharp gaze to the blonde and raised a slight brow, though he decided to humor the boy and responded to the question.

"It was a few years ago, when I was working in a music store along the outskirts of St. Petersburg. During my time there I worked as an assistant to the owner of the store, a retired General from the military. He taught me how to care for the instruments and make repairs, before I found the double bass he had in the back of the store, it used to be his and he offered to teach me. After that he taught me how to play and he allowed me to stay late and practice, for me it was, nice to be able to create music. Then I eventually ended up here…" Ivan trailed off, the Canadian beside him felt as if he wasn't telling everything there was to the story but in the least he was happy that the other had opened up. During his explanation Matthew noticed that the Russian would glance off, like he wanted to pretend he wasn't there.

"Now your turn, how did you end up here?" Ivan asked taking the attention off of him. The elder of the two turned to the Canadian waiting for him to answer.

Matthew nodded, thinking before opening his mouth, "I was encouraged to apply here because of one of my previous art teachers. He said that of the students he had been able to instruct I had the most likely chance of being accepted. I finally caved in and did, next thing I knew a letter in the mail was telling me I had been accepted." Matthew ran his hand through his hair, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. The blonde looked at Ivan whose face was looking in his direction, yet, it did not appear that he was looking at him.

"I see…," the Russian murmured; he turned back to the sea allowing an unsettling silence flow between them. The 'conversation' between the two of them was forced, and they knew it. It was awkward and uncomfortable, Ivan being unused to having to interact with another person after such a long time, and Matthew who felt as if he was treading on thin ice.

The silence lasted for a while longer before Matthew stirred once again. The sun had risen higher in the sky since the pair had arrived on the beach. As the sun rose so did the heat, and being in long-sleeved black uniform was making Matthew begin to feel stuffy and sticky. The Canadian wiped at the sweat beginning to collect at the back of his neck wondering if now would be a good time to just leave. It would certainly bring an end to the awkward silence and prevent another forced conversation. Ivan noticed how the blonde shifted uncomfortably and slid down off the boulder walking away but not before saying,

"Come," it came out more like an order but Matthew shrugged his shoulders and followed. "The tide should've gone down enough by now so that you don't have to worry about your clothes getting wet." The Russian added. Matthew cocked his head to the side with a 'What?' look on his face. Though Ivan missed it he walked along with the Canadian slightly behind him. Matthew thought of where Ivan could be taking him and why he shouldn't have to worry about getting his clothes wet. They rounded around a few boulders and Matthew saw a small inlet, the water had gone down enough to where the waves could not travel the full length up, exposing the wet sand to the baking sun. The blonde traced the wet sand up to an opening in the cliff's face, Ivan stood in front of the opening quietly beckoning Matthew to follow him inside.

"Careful, it can sometimes be slippery." The Russian warned walking further in.

"Okay." Matthew replied stepping carefully over the soft damp sand, the only sound being the squelch of the moist ground underfoot. The water remained in the center of the walkway leading deeper into the cavern until Ivan led them to an area where sunlight filtered down from an unseen opening in the ceiling. In that open area was a large sink hole in the middle filled with water, from that area there appeared to be other pools of water and tunnels. The sunlight that entered the (surprisingly cool) cavern reflected off the water and onto the walls, in the pools were a few small fish trapped until the tide rose again.

"Wow, all this is right beneath the school?" Matthew gaped, taking everything in. The Russian nodded,

"Yes, I wanted to show you this place since it is better than being directly outside in the heat. It is a good place to come and think."

"Nice," Matthew commented looking about peeking into the other 'rooms' some which were filled with water. The Canadian stopped glancing about when he noticed that Ivan had moved to kneel by one of the pools. Matthew moved to stand closer to see what he was doing and saw that the silver haired teen was gently colleting a small star-fish into his hands.

"Would you like to hold it?" Ivan asked softly. Matthew nodded and settled down beside him, the violet eyed male turned to the Canadian with his cupped hands and Matthew returned the gesture. Fingers brushed against each others as the small creature traveled from Ivan's hands to Matthew's. Matthew's cheeks were tinged pink at the close contact but it was sweet.

_'How is it that someone like him, can be seen as dangerous?'_ Matthew quietly thought.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Meanwhile, in the academy things were less peaceful. The school air was buzzing with the sounds of hushed whispers and rumors. Carlos was rubbing his temples trying to ward off his growing migraine, he had heard about the odd sighting of Matthew following Ivan around this morning. For the most part he tried to pass it off as a bizarre coincidence, though many of the student body had merely labeled the Canadian as a 'dead guy walking'. In any event the two of them hadn't been seen since morning. The Cuban looked over at Tino and Berwald who sat on the other side of his room. The Swede had a neutral look on his face trying to calm down his skittish roommate Tino, who had been the cause of the Cuban's migraine. Blathering on about how Matthew might be hurt, and other such things.

"I don't get how you can just sit there like nothing is wrong! I mean it's almost like you care if Matthew ends up like-"

"That's enough Tino!" Carlos barked and the Finn quickly quieted down. "I don't want to jump to any conclusions, I-I'm sure Mateo is fine. Just relax." Although he was telling Tino to relax Carlos was also trying to calm himself. While he himself was wary of Ivan Carlos had no actual reason for him to believe that Ivan would do anything to Matthew. Or that Matthew even was hanging around him, after all the Canadian had only shown a bit of curiosity about him. It was nothing.

"I just so… but when do you think Matthew will be back?" The tiny Finn asked taking a seat beside Berwald who rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know but hey let's not talk about this anymore all we're doing is sounding like a bunch of worry mother hens. And it's making me feel uncomfortable, you know how hard it is to do that to me." Carlos chuckled wanting to brighten the heavy mood. The other two seemed to pick up on it and Berwald thought it best for the two of them to leave. Thus he quietly excused the both of them and left Carlos alone. With the two blondes finally gone Carlos sighed and muttered under his breath,

"Dios mio Mateo, what on earth have you gotten yourself into?"

Matthew quickly climbed up along the stone ledge of the cliff back up to the academy. It had gotten to be late in the afternoon now and Ivan had suggested that he head back, that the other students had probably already noticed he was missing and that others had seen the pair earlier in the morning. The Canadian wanted to protest but at the same time Matthew also realized he didn't want to cause any trouble for Ivan and he left. Walking back to the building Matthew reviewed the day's events and his encounters with the Russian. Even though he was a bit socially awkward Matthew had found him to be rather pleasant, and at least he was trying to open up to Matthew. Maybe a small friendship between the two of them wasn't that impossible.

As Matthew entered the school he quickly weaved his way in and out of the hallways ignoring the odd stares and the occasional whispers behind his back. If he was going to befriend Ivan he'd better get used to the muttering now and learn to ignore it. After all how hard could that be? The blonde reached his floor and just as he began to walk down the hall a loud voice stopped him in his tracks.

"There you are! Just where the hell have you been all day!" Matthew winced at the voice as he turned to see an aggravated blonde staring at him with accusing, suspicious eyes.

_'Crap, Alfred.'_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The tide was quickly rising when Ivan had to leave his sanctuary, although it was inevitable he reluctantly made his way back up to the academy a while after Matthew had left. The tall silver haired teen stood at the back of the building reluctant to enter, he could already hear the whisperings and mutterings from the others. Despite having grown used to them, he did not like having to. He could hear a few particularly loud students from an open window, steeling his nerves once more the Russian prepared to enter the building.

"And so it, begins…"

* * *

_Good God I have finally updated after putting if off for so goddamn long. I'm so very sorry kind readers. I had hoped very dearly to have updated this and 'Morning After' sooner and much quicker this summer but real life got in the way. I sincerly apologise for that. But yes, onto this chapter it is a bit shorter than the others and well I don't know if I really like it that much but anyway... Yes I know the whole Ivan and Matthew bit was a bit awkward but I was going for that, I don't want Ivan (who already seems a bit socially awkward to me in my own mind) to be completely open with Matthew and I want matthew to be a little reluctant around him becuase they hardly know each other. Am I making any sense? Anywho please tell me what you think of this chapter. I thank all the wonderful readers who've been so patient with me as well as all the kind people who reviewed/favorited/ set an alert. I thank you all very much and hope you continue to enjoy my writing! If you liked, again please favorite/set an alert/review!~ **Sandshinobi00 **_


	6. Play for Me?

As if Matthew wasn't already getting numerous stares today, now he had to deal with Alfred. The American's outburst had attracted even more onlookers (if that was even possible by this point). For a brief moment Matthew couldn't even think of what to say, though in hindsight it wouldn't even matter as the other blonde took the opportunity to continue speaking (more or less; shouting).

"Matty where the hell have you been? I've been looking for you all day, have you heard what practically everyone has been saying? Just what the hell is going on man?" Al said, (shouted) looking for once flustered and beyond confused. He stepped closer to where Matthew stood and lowered his voice. "Well? You going to say something? … Anything?"

The Canadian stared into the other blonde's sapphire eyes and found that Alfred was genuinely concerned. The look in his eyes wasn't a frenzied, butting his nose into places it doesn't belong kind of look, but he actually looked frightened for Matthew. Feeling as if his mouth had just been crammed full of cotton Mathew swallowed thickly and finally came out of his shocked state.

"Alfred please just hear me out. About today"-

"Oi, mon petit Mathieu there you are!" another voice cut in.

Matthew and Alfred turned to look at where the voice had come from. The crowded hallway full of students parted allowing Francis to pass through, the upperclassman appeared calm despite the thick tension, and chaos surrounding him. A pleasant smile was painted on his face as he approached the two spectacled blondes.

"Bonjour mes amours! Mon cher Alfred I need to borrow Mathieu for a little while to discuss a project for our French class." The French student even batted his lashes flirtatiously, as he placed a hand on Matthew's shoulder.

Alfred's face turned into a scowl and the American almost spat out his response.

"Can't it wait?"

Either he was oblivious or just flat out ignoring the American's foul mood (the Canadian expected that it was the latter) the Frenchman replied smoothly,

"I'm afraid it cannot. Besides there will be plenty of time later on for you two to discuss this foolish gossip plaguing the school. Speaking of which…" at this point Francis directed his attention to the crowd watching. "Do you mind? There is nothing else to see here so would you please move along. You all are clogging up the hallway like fat in an artery." At his words several of the students glared, however the taller blonde didn't back down and the crowds began to move. Many of the students muttering under their breath.

Alfred's face remained stiff in his scowling look for a little while longer but Matthew reached out to him and gave him a sympathetic look.

"Al, it's okay. I'll talk to you later. Just relax." The Canadian reassured.

The American's face softened as he ran a hand through his hair and he conceded to the other blonde's request.

"All right… I'll see you later then."

With that Al turned and walked away from him. Leaving Matthew alone with Francis; the elder of the two quickly beckoned for Matthew to come with him. Matthew nodded and went with him, even though he wasn't exactly sure why. The whole 'French project' thing was a lie, but the Canadian figured that if he followed the upperclassman he would eventually get the chance to thank him for taking the pressure off of him and Al.

Francis' room was on the floor above where Alfred had confronted Matthew and it took less than five minutes for them to arrive there. As they entered Francis instructed for Matthew to go on ahead and make himself at home and motioned to a small seating area within the room.

The room itself was about the same size as the one that Carlos and Matthew shared, though it was a singles instead. Along the room's left wall was a large cherry wood desk, as well as the door that led to the bathroom. Where the back wall should have been there were large windows instead, giving the room's occupant a spectacular view of the ocean. The small seating are Francis had motioned to was back there near the left corner of the room. The seating area was composed of imperial style chairs (four with plush dark colored cushions/fabric), which were arranged around a small darkly finished wooden table. On the right side of the room was Francis' bed, a large four poster bed, each side of the frame intricately carved with the headboard against the wall. Sheer curtains finished its look, combined with numerous pillows placed upon it as well. Closer to the door on the right side was an enormous double door closet, and beside that was a tall vanity. Said vanity had various ribbons, brushes and even colognes on top of it, complete with looking glass and a seat. The final piece of furniture in the room was a tall round table in the center of the room, large coffee table books splayed across the top accompanied by a clear glass vase filled with red roses.

While Matthew went to take a seat Francis went over to the vanity to grab a ribbon and quickly pulled his hair into a low ponytail.

"Mon cheri, I know that it was more than presumptuous of me to do so, but I thought that with all this madness going about the school you would enjoy some time to relax away from it all. That there on the table is rose tea; I do hope that you'll at least stay with me for one cup." Francis explained as he walked over to where Matthew was sitting. The table in front of him held a tray with two delicate tea cups, a pot, and an array of different sweet cakes.

"Oh, okay thank you. This is really very nice of you; but why? Not to be rude or anything but you didn't need to do something like this"-

"Nonsense mon petit Mathieu I wanted to do this." Francis spoke while pouring the tea into the two cups, asking if Matthew preferred one lump of sugar or two. The Canadian asked for two while the taller blonde continued. "Another thing is that if you do not wish to speak about today I will not force you. If you do, then go right ahead and tell me and I'll sit here and just listen. No judgments, oui?"

Matthew stared down into his cup, a foggy reflection of himself staring back. Debating whether or not he'd take Francis up on his offer to open up a little. It would do him some good to get some of his thoughts off his chest. Several more minutes passed by with only the two of them quietly sipping at their tea, with Francis moving to take a small sweet treat for himself.

"We just talked."

"Hmm?" the French student questioned, glancing up through half lidded eyes mid-sip.

"Ivan and I, we went down to the shore and just talked. This tension, this, please forgive me for being so blunt, bullshit that the school's so fired up on…I- I don't know how to really explain it, just nothing happened. I was friendly he was friendly end of story. Is it that hard for people to believe? And I know you said you weren't going to be judgmental or anything but, honestly tell me what you think happened today and what did you feel?" The Canadian blurted out, almost slamming the delicate tea cup back down on the coffee table, barely catching himself in time.

He stares at Francis in earnest, searching the other's face for any kind of reaction. Francis' cerulean eyes were downcast, staring down into his own lap contemplating on how to word his response. He'd sobered up rather quickly, with his dazzling smile pressed into a smooth line, and his voice while still smooth and collected carried an extra weight to it.

"To be quite honest, I didn't like it. However I tried to keep my own discomfort and personal feelings to a minimum. You're smart and can handle yourself well, so I knew that you'd be all right. This was before I heard some of the, how should I put this, 'horror stories' of what you were 'really' doing. My emotions went south from then on, and I couldn't help it. There's a history here with him, and the rest of the students…. Which I know you are tired of hearing but understand it is not my place to tell you what happened as I was not involved."

"I see… so wait. Are you trying to say, that while Ivan has this 'history' you won't even tell me because you weren't involved? Did you hear about it from a third party, if so it could all just be rumors like the crap that's spreading around"-

'_Non_, Matthew while I did not see the actions that took place that gave Ivan his reputation; I saw the aftermath, the damage left behind. If you are really desperate to know you'll have to ask someone who was, and I'm not giving out names of the others involved… but to get back to your original inquiry I became worried, even if Ivan has shown signs of improvement…please I will not make you stop your pursuing of some kind of relationship with him, but if something does go wrong or things start to get bad you will come tell me, oui?" Francis pressed. Reaching over the table and grasping Matthew's smaller hand in his own.

Even if the Canadian wanted to be angry with Francis, he couldn't. It was the look in his face and eyes, that same honest-to-god look of concern and worry that Alfred had given him earlier. The Canadian let his brow relax as well as the rest of him as he nodded. The distress that was reflected within Francis' eyes seemed to evaporate and he too visibly calmed.

"Things are going to change Mathieu; I hope you do realize that…" The French student murmured.

"I was prepared for that from the very beginning." Matthew responded simply.

A small series of beeps from the French student's watch brought them out of the uncomfortable conversation. The teller blonde checked his wrist and then turned up to Matthew.

"Oh my, I haven't realized how late it's gotten, mon petit Mathieu I believe your other friends must be quite worried. I didn't mean to keep you so late." Francis moved to stand up signaling Matthew to do so as well, muttering something in French about cleaning up the tea and pastry platter later.

The Canadian looked out the large window and noticed how low the sun was in the sky. It indeed had gotten to be quite late. Matthew wasn't surprised if dinner was about to begin soon. The smaller blonde walked with Francis to the door, the taller of the two pausing for a brief moment before opening it.

"Just remember you are always welcome here, and your grand frère will do whatever he can to help." Francis wrapped his arms around Matthew pulling him into a warm embrace, the Canadian stiffened but quickly relaxed. The action was comforting, and he returned it. When they pulled apart the French student brushed a few strands away from Matthew's forehead and pressed his lips to the skin there in a gentle kiss. The Canadian's cheeks blossomed into a rosy red and he found himself unable to look Francis in the eye, but nodded to acknowledge what the other said. "Take care, mon petit Mathieu…"

Francis opened the door and stood in the doorway while he sent Matthew off down the (now mostly) empty hallway. When the small blonde rounded the corner he, sighed deeply and moved to close his door when out of the corner of his eye he noticed something. Staring directly at him was Arthur Kirkland, the Briton's thick brows furrowed and he snorted in distaste before walking away. Francis was taken aback by the look and shut the door with a quiet 'click'.

"Pourquoi tu me regardes comme ça, mon petit monsieur?" He muttered somberly.

While Matthew was dealing with his own set of problems, Ivan had only just recently reentered the school building. Just as he expected students fixed their gazes upon him and parted their crowds to opposite sides of the hall. Some of them whispered, others glared their scorn unhidden, and the first years merely looked on with curiosity. Ivan carried himself with dignity, with an unreadable face as he made his way back to his room. The Russian was almost in the home stretch ascending the stairway up to his floor when he stopped dead in his tracks. A book had been tossed over the edge falling two stories down to the floor below landing with a loud, echoing 'Thud'. His breathing became quick and deep, sweat beading at his temples. Violet eyes glanced up wearily to the landing from where he thought the book was thrown. Gilbert smirked from above saying a small 'Oops' before running off, cackling like a madman. Ivan took a shaky breath before willing himself to move again.

Things were going to be more difficult than he had anticipated.

When Matthew entered his shared dorm Carlos looked up from his guitar and gave him a smile too big for his face. The Canadian attempted his own, but when the Cuban's smile began to falter he figured his own smile wasn't very convincing. Truth be told he was tired, and just wanted to sleep. Carlos set his instrument aside before opening his mouth to speak,

"Hey, Mateo you doing all right? You seem a little…"

Matthew nodded, "I'm fine, just tired… hey I'm gonna take a nap before dinner, will you wake me up please?"

"Sure, no problem."

"Thanks."

Matthew quickly kicked off his shoes and removed his glasses placing them on his nightstand before climbing into bed and burying his face in a pillow. In less than five minutes he was asleep. Carlos on the other hand watched over the boy with a slight frown. His friend really did worry him, half because of what he was doing and the other half because he couldn't control the actions of the other students. He couldn't help but wonder if the Canadian was mentally prepared for the backlash, all of it.

The Cuban returned to his guitar and tightened a few more strings.

By dinner Matthew had perked up a tad more, things still seemed pretty normal . Tino and Berwald still joined them. The Finn spoke happily about trivial matters steering clear of the big fat elephant in the room. Unbeknownst to Matthew, Carlos had told them specifically to leave that nonsense alone. Matthew smiled and played along, his blue eyes scanning the crowd for any trace of Ivan. He caught Alfred glacing over at him a couple of times, and other students smirking at him, but no sign of the Russian. '_Is he all right ?' _Matthew worried. For about ten or fifthteen more minutes the Canadian picked at his food before feigning tiredness and quietly slipping away and out of the dinning hall.

Matthew practically ran down the halls and up the stairs, part of him wanted to check on Ivan the other half just wanted to talk to someone who wouldn't look at him with a worried look in their eyes. He stopped just outside Ivan's bedroom door, listening to the low sounds of his double bass being played. The Canadian steeled his nerves before lightly tapping on the dark wood door. The music stopped and footsteps could be heard as well from inside. The door opened just a crack, one of Ivan's violet eyes peeking to look out. Once he recognized Matthew he opened the door wider.

"Hey," Matthew started out shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Can I just…"

Ivan nodded understanding what the smaller blonde wanted, "Of course, come in."

Ivan's room was the same size as Francis', though not nearly as extravagant; the only items in the room were the dresser, his desk, bed, nightstand, and bass with its stand (as well as a stand for sheet music). Each of the furniture was in the school's standard cherry colored finish, and his bed with the same sheets and comforter as Matthew's. Ivan went and sat of the edge of his bed and offered Matthew a seat in his desk chair. A large window rested against the far wall. A few smaller items placed into the room were two pictures on the nightstand; one appeared to be a family portrait. A younger Ivan stood in the middle of two girls, one with short blonde hair accessorized with a headband and blue eyes, very motherly looking despite her age, and younger blonde girl with a white bow placed in her long blonde hair and a fierce scowl on her face. _'Does he have sisters?'_ the other of a sunflower field.

"So, I take it things haven't been going well?" The Russian offered.

"It's not that… It's just everyone is handling me like glass and acting like worried mother hens. I feel suffocated, but I am grateful that they care about me so much." Matthew replied.

"Well, it's not their fault they are worried after look at who you're hanging around." At this point the Russian gestured to himself, still rather calm and accepting of everything. "Give it time Matthew, things will eventually calm down and they'll leave you alone. Trust me."

"What about you?"

"Don't worry, I've been at this place and know these people better than you. I can handle it." The silverette stated. "But I thought you didn't want to talk about this…"

"Ah, yeah…What was that you were playing earlier?"

"A small solo piece by Giovanni Bottesini."

"Would it be too much to ask for you to play it and let me listen?" Matthew ventured, his face turning pink after he said it. "But if you don't want to that's fine I was just wondering is all…"

Ivan was surprised by Matthew's request, and while he didn't show any outward signs of his surprise he felt flattered. He nodded, quietly saying that he didn't mind. He moved to grab the double bass and its bow, placing it between his legs and moving the music stand in front of him placing the sheet music in place. Once settled his hands went to their appropriate places on the neck, and he drew the bow across the strings.

Matthew watched, mesmerized by the way Ivan played. While he had heard him before the Canadian had never witnessed him play in such a close proximity. The Russian was a true artist at work, fingers and arms moving fluidly, his violet eyes closed playing mostly by ear, and only every so often did he look at the sheet music. It was beautiful, he was beautiful. Matthew found himself being soothed by those low notes, if only the moment could last forever.

As the piece drew to an end Ivan placed his beloved instrument aside before moving to put it back into its case. Matthew couldn't help but smile at the care the other took.

"You play beautifully…" He complemented. He even held back a small chuckle when it was Ivan's cheeks that turned a light shade of pink this time.

"Thank you."Ivan returned, his lips turned ever so slightly at the corners. A small smile.

Matthew smiled himself, "I guess dinner probably almost over by now…" He didn't want to leave but he had to make sure he got back before Carlos.

Ivan nodded, "Yes… Thank you for visiting… it was nice."

The Canadian let himself out and made his way back to his shared room. Carlos hadn't returned yet and Matthew sighed in relief, the blonde removed his school uniform and changed into his night clothes. He quickly brushed his teeth before climbing into bed and tucking himself beneath the thick covers. As he lay there he couldn't help himself as he pictured the Russian's frail smile. How shy and sad it was.

He closed his eyes and dreamed dreams of soft music that he would not remember come morning's light.

* * *

_Okay. I've been gone for forever again… and I am not happy with chapter…jeez I'm so very sorry. I thank everyone who's been so very patient with me and waited for an update with this story, I thank everyone who chose to favorite or set and alert to this fic while I was gone and to the wonderful reviewers. Reasons why I was gone well I tried to have this finished by Christmas time but my great aunt passed away and I was really close to her so I couldn't bring myself to write, then spring break came and I was off with my Spanish class on a trip to Spain so no time to write then. Finally summer comes along and my father ends up hurting his leg to the point where he's been on crutches, thank fully now he's doing better but still… In the end I was mostly just reading and re-reading '__**Giving In'**__ and '__**We'll Marry our Fortunes Together'**__ to cheer myself up (I secretly stalk their works so don't tell XD). I really apologize for any change in writing styles or quality, I'm really trying to get back into the groove of writing again so you guys won't have to wait so long(It's been almost a year since my last update*slams head onto desk*). Thanks for reading and if you liked it please review/favorite/alert please! ~__**Sandshinobi00**_


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